blog/source/_posts/recommended-android-apps.md

title	date	lastUpdated	tags
Recommended Android apps	2019-01-07 00:00:00	2019-01-12 00:00:00

Following my switch to microG (an open source re-implementation of Google Play), some Google Apps stopped working ({% post_link microg-google-play-replacement 'read here' %}). During my search for replacements, I discover many open source alternatives. These are the apps I'm currently using and recommend to everyone.

Aside from below list, check out the NanoDroid's list of other great open source alternatives.

Name	Previous	Comment
F-Droid + Yalp Store	Play Store	Compatible with microG. F-Droid is an app store for open source apps. Yalp Store is to browse and install apps listed in Google Play without a Google account.
Fennec F-Droid	Firefox	It's an official build by Mozilla for F-Droid with less proprietary components (Google Services Framework?). Particularly suitable for microG.
Simple Calendar + DAVx⁵	Google Calendar	Google Calendar doesn't work with microG. It's part of Simple Mobile Tools, so it's open source and include dark theme. Use DAVx⁵ to sync calendar and contact. Google uses proprietary protocols instead of CalDAV and CardDAV, so data migration is required.
Simple Gallery	Google Photos	The only reason I use Google Photos is the ability to view panoramas, despite having no issue with microG. Since Simple Gallery is part of Simple Mobile Tools and supports panoramas, I gladly switched.
uNote	OI Notepad	Smallest (71KB) open source notepad app that I could find.
KeePass DX	KeePassDroid	Utilise Material theme so it looks more modern and feels lighter.
Lithium	FBReader	Free but proprietary EPUB reader. The best feature is read by scrolling; each chapter is displayed as a long text and you scroll down as you read. I find this feature faster than flip-by-swipe and without the accidental touch issue of flip-by-tap.
Unit Converter Ultimate		The only unit converter app that you would ever need. Supports every practically possible units including currency.
andOTP	Google Authenticator	Open source and dark theme.
Loyalty Card Keychain	Google Pay	Simply to store loyalty cards with barcode.
HERE WeGo	Google Maps	I use it simply for compatibility microG (which Google Maps doesn't work with). Maybe I'll consider OsmAnd or MAPS.ME which are open source and utilise OpenStreetMap.